Taint
by Madcap Minstrel
Summary: Postgame AU. A year has passed since Meteor, and Materia has since been banned worldwide. When cheaply made materia surfaces on the black market, Avalanche must team up with a mysterious band of travelers to stop the serious repercussions.
1. Prologue

A/N: This is a re-done version of my first ever Final Fantasy 7 fanfiction. It was written before I ever saw Advent Children, so this would be considered a post-Meteor AU story. Hope you all like it!

* * *

Prologue:

The boy opened finally opened his eyes and sat up. How long had he managed to fall asleep for? He'd slept fitfully on a large strip of cardboard the whole night, plagued by nightmares of what had happened only a few days ago.

Eventually, he got to his feet and began to wander around, hoping that he might find someplace to get some breakfast.

_I've seen this on TV all the time…_he thought, _when disaster strikes, all the charity workers come popping out and bringing food to the needy…and I really _need_ food!_

Meteor had come only a few days ago, destroying most of Midgar, and decimating the Shinra building. The boy had been lucky to escape with his life.

_Guess my big brains finally came in handy…_

After locating a Meals on Wheels truck that had stopped to hand out breakfast to the crowd that had gathered around it, the boy waited patiently until he was handed a bagel and a container of juice. Content, he ran off looking for a safe place to eat.

Sector Five had been the least affected by Meteor, and the boy had realized that when he decided to settle there after two days of walking.

Tents littered the area, filled with refugees from the less fortunate sectors. It was a dismal sight, watching everyone in so much pain. Though not many people had shown him kindness during his short five years, he couldn't help but feel for everyone around him.

Clutching his bagel and juice, he headed for the nearest alley where he could be alone to eat and think.

"Whatcha got there, boy?"

He turned to see a large man looming over him, a sinister grin plastered on his face.

"All by yourself, eh?" the man leered, "Why don't you let me take care of you…?"

For a split second, the boy stood there, frozen in fear. What might sound like a kind offer from someone else was obviously not the man's true motive. Not wanting to know what it was, however, he sprinted off as fast as he could.

He had been running as fast as he could for a few minutes when he stopped and saw what appeared to be a church completely surrounded in rubble. Despite the mess, he felt drawn to the old building, and decided to look around for a way in. After searching for a minute, he finally found a place to crawl through until he reached the broken doorway.

After making it inside, he stood up and took a good look at his surroundings. The place was completely empty, as he'd expected it to be. There was a large hole in the ceiling, but what really caught his eye was the small patch of flowers directly below it.

_Someone told me that plants can't grow in Midgar's soil. Everything is either grown using hydroponics or imported from the outside._

Slowly, he walked up to the patch and inspected the flowers. They didn't look anything like in the books he'd seen. They were surrounded by weeds, as if they had been neglected for a few months.

The growling in his stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten yet. Deciding to forget about the flowers for now, he sat on one of the pews and began to eat.

_Maybe I can hide out here for now…_

* * *


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: My Name Is Aeris

"There it is. Can you hear its cries?"

"Looks like your suspicions of a planet in distress were correct,"

"Wow…I've only read about that kind of thing in classic literature. Wonder what the hell happened to it?"

"No way of knowing until we get there, right? Let's go,"

* * *

Junon had suffered almost as much as Midgar had, but being above ground, clearing the wreckage had been much easier. Slowly, the port city had begun to heal. Now, fourteen months after Meteor, things seemed to be returning to normal. 

In the streets, a crowd had gathered around the commotion happening.

A young man cried out in pain as he was slammed to the ground by two Turks. A third Turk, a man with unruly red hair tied back in a ponytail, reached into the man's backpack and pulled out several materia orbs.

"Okay, let's see…" Reno mused as he examined each orb, "Oh, a fire materia, a manipulate materia, and a summon! Oh, that's gonna put you away for a while…let's go,"

The two other dragged the man up to his feet, and then over to the waiting van where they threw him into and climbed in after him.

"Ready, Rude?" Reno grinned as he sat down in the front passenger seat.

The bald Turk nodded silently as he shifted into drive and stepped on the gas pedal.

Meanwhile, the crowd had begun to disperse, the people discussing what had just happened amongst themselves.

"There goes my tax money…" grumbled one man.

A woman shook her head in disgust. "Stupid law. Tear down the reactors, sure. But banning materia?"

"Overkill if you ask me…" agreed another man.

As everyone went their separate ways, a lone figure stepped out from the shadows of a nearby alley. Yuffie Kiseragi looked around nervously as she adjusted the backpack on her shoulder. When she was sure that no one was around, she slipped back into the shadows again.

_I'm in so much trouble…_

* * *

Hidden in a large crevice on the Northern Continent lies an abandoned city known only by historians and explorers as The City of the Ancients. No one had lived there for centuries, but the area looked as if it had only been evacuated a few years ago. 

The bulk of the city was located underground, the gateway lying underneath a large building shaped like a broken triton shell. Nearby was a lake, where unbeknownst to many, a young woman had been laid to rest by her friends after witnessing her murder at the hands of a madman. In front of the lake stood a large tombstone.

The usual dead silence was suddenly disturbed by a flash of light that appeared near the lake. Six figures materialized soon after.

A man in his early thirties with jet-black hair looked around and grinned.

"Finally!" he exclaimed, "We're off that rotten ship! I thought we'd never get the Teleporter to work!"

"I still think you were doing something wrong, dear," a blonde woman commented as she held a small girl in her arms.

"Well, whatever the case, we're here," said the middle-aged red-haired woman.

"In the middle of nowhere," grumbled a young man with blue hair wearing a longshoreman's hat.

"I already sense the presence of one of our own," the red-haired woman clapped her hands enthusiastically, "Let's go find them!"

The little girl looked at the blonde woman questioningly. "Mommy?"

"We're looking for someone," her mother answered, "Are you all rested from your nap?"

"Yep," the girl replied.

"Let's go then," the blonde smiled.

"Hey, look at this," the blue-haired man pointed at the tombstone.

He and the others went over to examine the grave.

"One lonely headstone…" observed a portly middle-aged man with pepper-colored hair. He looked at the strange writing on it, knowing there was no way to decipher the words.

"Um…" the young man turned to the lake and walked over to the shore, "The closer I get to the lake, the stronger the presence gets,"

Everyone stood silently, pondering what he'd just said.

"You don't think…?" the blonde woman turned to the raven-haired man.

"It's possible…" the man nodded.

Everyone looked at the blue-haired man, who sighed.

"Yeah, yeah…" he muttered as he began taking off his shoes.

"Cadia…" the red-haired woman turned to the blonde.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"You and Haewin should scout the area for proper shelter," the older woman looked at Cadia and then at the older man, "The rest of us can take care of drying off our guest. This should be quite interesting…"

* * *

"M-more blankets please…!" the young man said as he sat shivering in one of the buildings fifteen minutes later, "Th-the least you can d-do, right?" 

"It had to be you," Haewin told him, "You're our best swimmer,"

The young man looked at the closed door. "Th-think they need help ch-changing her?" he managed with smirk..

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," Haewin replied.

"Here you go," the black-haired man came in carrying the little girl and a towel, which he offered to the younger man.

"Thanks, Elehar," he took the towel and began drying his hair.

"Hey, I'll make it up to you," Elehar smiled, "I'll cook us dinner tonight. You can have my slot to cook instead,"

"Deal," the young man smiled.

"Daddy, who's that?" the little girl pointed to the door of the other room.

"Hopefully, a new friend," Elehar smiled at his daughter, "Mommy and Ms. Edeama are just drying her off and getting her changed,"

"She was in the water," the girl observed.

"Yes," Elehar said with a nod, "She was. She's in a very, very deep sleep right now. Daddy's going in there as soon as she's all changed to make sure she wakes up,"

Just then, the door opened and the two women stepped came out.

"She's all yours," Cadia smiled at Elehar.

"Alrighty," Elehar handed the child over to her mother and went into the room. Everyone else followed.

The young woman lay in a bed, her chestnut hair completely dry, and was dressed in a simple white gown.

Elehar looked frustrated. "Must you all watch me as I do this?"

"It's not every day that you find a person trapped in limbo," the woman named Edeama smiled, "This is absolutely fascinating,"

"Fools," the young man muttered, "How could they think she was dead? What kind of people was she living with? Is this supposed to be the dark ages or something?"

"I'm sure we'll get our answers in due time," Edeama replied, "Ready?"

Elehar reached into his backpack and took out a tiny off-white materia orb, and a mastered restore materia. "Ready," he said.

He then pocketed the orbs and went over to the bed where he promptly lifted up his patient's gown.

"Don't look, Sierra," Cadia cringed as she turned around and covered the child's eyes.

Elehar took out the restore materia and held it up. He began chanting softly. Suddenly, a light began to shine and enveloped the girl. When the light disappeared, her grotesque wound had closed up, leaving a scar.

"Now for the other side…" Elehar turned her over again.

"Who could do that to her?" Edeama wondered aloud.

"I'm sure we'll get our answers in due time," the middle-aged man responded as Elehar began to chant again.

"This is by far the weirdest landing I've ever made," the young man shook his head, "We land in a ghost town where one girl is left for dead in a lake,"

"Would you have rather landed in the middle of a bustling city where the natives may have panicked?" Edeama pointed out.

"I guess you have a point…" he sighed.

"Done with the wounds," Elehar announced as he pulled the woman's gown back down. He then pocketed the restore materia and took out the white orb. He began a different chant. His patient began to glow, until she gasped for breath suddenly, causing everyone to jump.

"She's alive," Elehar smiled as he pocketed the second orb.

"But she's not waking up," the young man pointed out.

"Her body is just barely functioning," Elehar explained, "It's trying to regain its strength. That could take anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks for her to wake up, depending on the girl alone…"

* * *

Yuffie sat in the room she'd rented at the Junon Inn, staring at the Leviathan summoning materia her father had given her. 

"It's not right," she whispered to herself, "It's just not right. It's true- it _is_ overkill. But…I can't keep this collection anymore. I should get rid of it. It's a stupid law, banning materia, but I don't want the Turks throwing _me_ to the ground and locking me up…"

Yuffie sighed and put the materia back in her backpack, which she placed in the closet. She closed the door and left her room.

"What am I gonna do…?" Yuffie muttered as she entered the lobby and sat down.

_Gawd, this sucks! I helped save the world and get no money or gratitude! Now my eighteenth birthday is coming up, and I'll have to become a "lady". Lady Yuffie my ass. I'm not cut out for nobility. Those months I spent with Avalanche were the greatest time of my life! I never got any rush like that before or since. I don't wanna go home and have tea parties with foreign diplomats!_

Yuffie sprang to her feet and stamped her foot.

"I won't do it!!" she yelled, "Dad should have had more kids! He was stupid for entrusting the social fate of Wutai to me! Why the hell do I wanna make nice and accept a title that does absolutely nothing?! Since when have I ever cared about impressing old farts?! No, I won't do it!!!"  
The receptionist and a couple of people who were in the lobby stared at Yuffie as if she'd gone insane.

Yuffie realized what she had done and blushed furiously. "W-what the hell are you all looking at??" she shouted as she ran back toward her room.

* * *

Three days had passed since Elehar had healed the young woman. Every day since then, a different person had been assigned to watch over her. Today, the blue-haired man had been assigned to watch her, which he had done the entire day. Now, the sun was setting, and he was beginning to get bored. 

He sat reading a book, glancing at her occasionally. Finally, he sighed and put the book down.

"Ms. Edeama must really trust me to watch a comatose pretty lady by myself," he said to her, "Don't worry, miss. I assure you I am not an unscrupulous man,"

She then began to stir.

"Hmm…?" he was intrigued, "Are you finally coming back to us?"

The girl shot up to a sitting position and clutched her stomach, letting out a bloodcurdling scream. When she looked down and realized that nothing was wrong, she stopped screaming and looked around confusedly.

The young man had backed up against the wall upon hearing her scream. "Yeah…nice to see you're awake," he managed to smile nervously.

"Who are you?" panted the girl, "What's going on??"

He went over to her bed. "The name's Jera Meriago. Welcome back. You've been asleep for a few days now,"

"…What happened??" she asked in a slightly panicked voice.

"We found you in the lake," Jera explained, "You were in limbo and left for dead,"

"…Limbo?" she scowled, "What's limbo?"

Jera frowned. "You don't know what limbo is?"

Just then, Edeama burst into the room.

"I heard a scream and- oh my," she stopped short as she saw their guest awake and sitting up, "Hello there. It's good to see you awake at last. Perhaps now we can put a name to your face?"

"I…don't know…" the girl suddenly realized, looking terrified, "I can't remember anything…!"

"This should be interesting…" Jera muttered.

Edeama gave him a look that told him to shut up. She then went over and sat down at the foot of the bed.

"Don't worry, child," Edeama reassured the younger woman, "I've been reading up on this, and that's a perfectly normal occurrence when a person wakes up from limbo and-"

"What's this 'limbo' I keep hearing about?" the girl interrupted.

"We found you lying in the bottom of a lake with a terrible stab wound through your abdomen," Edeama told her, "If you hadn't been of Cetra blood, that would most definitely be a fatal wound. But instead, your body was able to release certain chemicals that put itself into a suspended animation of sorts. That is what we call "limbo". During limbo, an astral projection is released, and the soul wanders about aimlessly through the lifestream of their world. However, we have the means to revive a person in limbo, as you can very well see,"

The young woman stared silently, trying to comprehend all that the older woman had told her.

"Oh, yes!" Edeama exclaimed, "I nearly forgot! Jera I originally came to tell you that Elehar needs your assistance in the library,"

"All right," Jera made his way toward the door before he turned around. "Glad to see you back among the living, miss. A pleasure meeting you. So long,"

"My name is Edeama," the woman smiled after Jera closed the door behind him, "Is there anything I can get you? Are you hungry?"

The girl smiled. "Yeah, thanks,"

* * *

Later that night, after the girl had finished eating, she had asked Edeama about her and Jera. The older woman had then sat down and proceeded to tell her all about her and her companions. 

"…And that's about all of it," Edeama finished finally.

"So…" the girl stared at her, "You're all Cetra from another planet,"

"Yes, well, the Cetra come from various planets," Edeama clarified, "But our group comes from the planet Terris,"

"And…I'm from this planet, but I'm a Cetra too?"

"Demi-Cetra," Edeama corrected her, "I'm certain. Your aura is hazy. A pure Cetra has a clear aura,"

"…Okay," the girl had no idea what the other woman was talking about.

"So you don't remember anything?" Edeama looked concerned, "Or anyone? No friends or family?"

"Nothing," the girl shook her head sadly, "It's all a blank,"

"Well, it should eventually come back to you," Edeama patted the younger woman's arm reassuringly before an uneasy look passed over her face.

The girl didn't miss it. "What's wrong?"

Edeama shifted uncomfortably. "Well, this may sound a little morbid, but…," she pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it over to the girl. "Can you read this? It was inscribed on what we think may be your…tombstone,"

The girl took the piece of paper, unfolded it, and began to read aloud: "In this lake rests Aeris Gainsborough. Born: February 7th, 2164. Died: June 27th, 2186. No sacrifice is too great for the number of lives you saved. May you find the Promised Land…" she put down the piece of paper, looking slightly ill at having read her own epitaph.

"I apologize," Edeama took the paper and crumpled it up, "But at least we know your name,"

"My name is Aeris…" the girl scowled, trying to remember anything else.

Edeama stood up. "You should get some rest," she told her, "I'm sure your mind is too full of questions to fall asleep, so I'll make it easier for you…"

She held her hand to Aeris' forehead, and a soft light emitted from her open palm. Aeris slowly closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

_Sleep well, child,_ Edeama thought, _I have a feeling things are about to get quite complicated for you in the near future…_

* * *

Outside, Elehar and Jera had been conversing with the still weak Planet, in hopes of finding answers to why it was in such a weak state. However, its answers were muddled and had only confused the two men. 

"What kind of psychopaths are living here that could do this much damage to their own world?" Jera shook his head disgustedly.

"And we still don't know what the word 'Sephiroth' means," said Elehar.

"No," Jera agreed, "But I figure it has something to do with the Planet's weak condition. We'll never find out what's going on at this rate. The one person who could help us the most has amnesia and there's no one else in sight,"

They then saw Edeama exiting the house.

"How is she?" Elehar asked as Edeama walked over to them.

"Sleeping," Edeama replied.

"So where do we go from here?" asked Jera.

Edeama shrugged. "We might as well stay here for a while. This is the perfect place to hide out until we contact the other members of the Coalition,"

"In this ghost town??" Jera was incredulous.

"Welcome to your new home," Edeama smirked.

* * *

"They're kinda big, aren't they?" 

The elderly man stared curiously at the large orb he held in his hand.

"The bigger, the better," said the younger man who held a sack containing several more orbs, "They're just as good as the materia you could find in stores before Meteor. You said you needed a good ice materia. And the good news is, you don't need to master them. They're already at their maximum. That's how they're created,"

The old man seemed to consider the other man's words. "…That would be a great help in my factory…" he pondered.

"You'll have the best ice cream franchise in Midgar. For you, Meteor can be a blessing in disguise. It's all up to you…"

"…All right," the old man swallowed hard, "I'll take it,"


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: I don't own Final Fantasy. I do own any OCs though.

* * *

Chapter 2: Ave Mundi Luminar

It had been nearly two days since Aeris had finally woken up. The first day, she had spent resting while Edeama came in occasionally to check up on her and bring her food. Aeris had wondered why none of the other people in her group had bothered to come and introduce themselves to her.

Half of the group had been busy pouring over books in the library, which was the building located near the water altar in the heart of the city. Trying to find out all they could about the Planet, Haewin had ultimately stumbled on a journal that narrated the events following the "Crisis From The Skies". Reluctantly, he and Jera read through the book which gave a detailed account of how quickly the Cetra living on the Planet had died out at the hands of a monster that had originally passed itself off as one of their own kind.

"So…that's that?" Haewin asked sadly as he closed the book.

"Well, not _all_ the Cetra died off here, obviously," Jera pointed out, "Maybe there were some of them who escaped. Besides- we don't know how long ago this happened,"

"Given the style of architecture," Haewin observed, "Which seems to be a variation of a style popular over two thousand years ago…"

"Ah, whatever!" Jera shrugged, "Point is, we shouldn't just be looking over two-thousand-year-old books when we could be getting current information from our people _outside!_ We haven't even used the chocobos on the ship yet!"

"Perhaps," Haewin agreed, "But we should at least let our guest regain her strength, not to mention her memory. I haven't even had the pleasure of meeting her since she awoke,"

As if on cue, the door opened, and Aeris walked inside.

"Oh, hello," she smiled at the two men, "Don't mind me…I was just trying to see if I could find some shoes. The floor is cold, you know!"

Jera and Haewin's mouths opened in shock.

"You just got out of bed and walked barefoot down the road, through the dirt, into the entryway, down the long staircase, and then came here after being awake from Limbo for only two days?!" Jera was incredulous.

"I couldn't find Ms. Edeama," Aeris shrugged, "And there was no one else in sight,"

Jera's head drooped in exasperation as he heaved a sigh.

"You should still be in bed," Haewin went over to her, "How do you feel?"

"Well enough, obviously," Jera muttered.

"It's good to finally see you awake," Haewin ignored Jera, "My name is Haewin. I already know you're Aeris,"  
"Pleased to meet you," Aeris smiled as she shook the man's hand.

Jera reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like some kind of walkie-talkie. He pressed a button, and a second later, Edeama's voice could be heard.

"_Yes?_"

"Ms. Edeama," Jera said, "Aeris needs some shoes,"

"_What are you doing in the house? You're not the type to slack off on the job_,"

"I'm not in the house," Jera told her, "She's in the library,"

"_How did she get there?!_" Edeama's voice was alarmed.

"She walked, obviously," Jera answered.

There was a pause. "_I'll be there shortly_," she said.

"Sit down," Haewin invited her, "We've just been helping ourselves to the history that Aesiria's library has to offer,"

"Aesiria?" Aeris frowned.

"The name of this city, from what we learned in these books," Haewin explained.

Aeris nodded as she pulled up a chair and sat down at the long table across from the two men. "Are you all just planning to stay here and research my planet's history?"

"Apparently," Jera rolled his eyes, still annoyed at the thought of having to stay in the city whose population was a whopping seven.

"Is that what you normally do when you arrive on a new planet?" Aeris asked them.

"Well, actually…" Jera looked embarrassed, yet a little proud at the same time, "This is the first time I've been the first person to set foot on new territory, though technically this world isn't new to the Cetra. You're living proof of that,"

"We normally do tend to try staying out of sight," said Haewin, "Especially since we don't know if the inhabitants are intelligent, or merely wild beasts. Our organization is small, and we can't afford many casualties, if any at all,"

"So how long does that take?" Aeris asked.

"We've already been here for five days now," Jera answered, "The pilot and her husband have been on the ship scanning the area to see what kind of life lies beyond this city,"

Just then, Edeama opened the door and walked inside, carrying a large duffel bag that looked completely full, and a long staff with a star-shaped end. Behind her were Cadia, Elehar, and Sierra.

"An impulsive girl, aren't you?" Edeama smirked at Aeris.

"You weren't around," Aeris shrugged.

"Well, it's a good thing that I found you," Edeama went over to Aeris and handed her the bag and the staff, the latter of which Jera seemed to be interested in.

Aeris opened the duffel bag and began to look through it.

"Whose is this?" Aeris asked.

"Yours, I'm guessing," Edeama said, "We found it in another one of the houses on the surface,"

"Excellent!" Aeris pulled out a simple white dress and did some more rummaging, "Change of underwear, materia, socks…aha!" she dug her hand toward the bottom, and pulled out a pair of old-looking boots without managing to spill the other contents, "A little ratty, but they'll definitely do!"

She immediately set down her belongings and began putting on the socks she'd found.

"Oh, forgive me!" Edeama chuckled, "I meant to introduce you to the others. This is Elehar- the man who healed you,"

"Oh," Aeris stopped midway as she was putting on her boots, "So I owe extra thanks to you, don't I?"

"I was only doing my job," Elehar smiled humbly.

"And this is our pilot, and Elehar's wife, Cadia," Edeama gestured toward the other woman.

"Pleased to meet you!" Aeris finished tying her laces and smiled, "And who's this?" she asked indicating the small child in Cadia's arms.

"This little handful is Sierra," the pilot smiled, "Sierra, say hello to Aeris,"

"Hello," Sierra smiled shyly, "Did my daddy make your boo-boo go away?"

"He sure did," Aeris beamed at the little girl, and then began to look through her belongings once more. Just then, she pulled out a sealed envelope.

"What's that?" Jera asked.

"It's addressed to someone named Elmyra Gainsborough…in Midgar," Aeris frowned as she tore open the letter and began to read.

_Dear Mom_, it read, _I hope you and Marlene are doing alright. We just arrived at the Gold Saucer. We're trying to find the keystone, which will grant us access to the Temple of the Ancients. I hope we can stick around a bit, though. I love the Gold Saucer- it's the most fun place I've ever been to. If all goes well, it won't be long before I see you again. Love, Aeris._

"Midgar," Aeris said thoughtfully, "My mother is in Midgar,"

"Where is that?" Edeama asked.

"I don't know," Aeris looked frustrated.

"Damn," Jera commented, "So how do you plan on getting home?"

Aeris sighed. "I don't know," she admitted, "I don't know where Midgar is, and I don't know if there's any method of transportation to get me there…I don't know what to do,"

"We'll take you home, obviously," Edeama said simply.

Jera did a double-take. "What??"

"We've landed in the middle of nowhere, Jera," Edeama told him, "If we escort Aeris to her home, then we'll find out about the people of this planet. It's only logical,"

Jera was confused. "But just a few days ago, you said we should settle here!"

Edeama nodded. "Yes, but that was until the others arrive, or until Aeris was able to recall where she lived. But now that she does know, we can't just send her off all by herself with no recollection of her past,"

Jera sighed and grinned slightly, simply happy to know he wouldn't be staying in Aesiria for much longer. "All right, I understand. When do we leave?"

"How does tomorrow sound?" Edeama smiled.

"Sounds great to me!" Aeris beamed.

"What about money-?" Jera began to ask, but stopped as he saw Aeris reach into the bag again, pulling out a giant wad of gil notes.

"Looks like money to me," Elehar chuckled, "Our new friend must have been on quite the journey,"

* * *

Autumn was just starting, and the already cold climate of the Northern Continent was getting even chillier than usual. Edeama, Haewin, Jera, and Aeris all had to bundle up before mounting the four black chocobos that had been beamed down from the ship. Elehar and Cadia decided to spare Sierra the journey and stayed behind for the time being. 

They hadn't gotten very far before stopping in Bone Village. There were, to the three explorers' disappointment, no Cetra living there. They had, however, acquired various maps of the Planet's continents, scouting them until they found the large city located on the Eastern Continent. Aeris had been relieved, as she figured that asking for directions would most likely seem odd. Where Midgar was, was most likely common knowledge to anyone else.

Finally, they reached the shore the next morning, preparing to cross the ocean. Aeris swallowed hard, trying desperately to remember if she'd ever learned how to swim should the worst happen and she fell.

"These are the steadiest mounts I've ever ridden," Haewin reassured her, as if he'd read her thoughts, "They never panic, and their endurance is remarkable,"

Aeris forced a smile, shivering as she pulled the brown cloak Edeama had given her tighter around her. Edeama had asked her a few times already if she was absolutely sure that she was up for what might be a long journey, and each time, she'd answered yes. There was no way she could chicken out now.

"Let's go," she gulped.

* * *

Crossing the sea had been easy, but the six hours spent on the sea had been absolutely terrifying for Aeris nonetheless. She was grateful to finally see land up ahead, and even more so once she was finally able to dismount her chocobo. Not only had the vast sea below scared her, but her rear was extremely sore as well. Still, she kept her complaints to herself, grateful to her benefactors for all they had done for her. 

Thankfully, however, they all had decided to take a rest for a short while before continuing on. There were various other islands that the group had to pass over before actually making it to the Eastern Continent. Then there were the mountains and rivers to cross. Though the sea had been terrifying, the rough terrain hadn't fazed Aeris at all. That made sense, considering the circumstances in which she'd nearly died in the first place. Obviously, she must have gotten around before losing her memory.

During the journey, she had gotten to know her three companions a little better. Edeama was a strong-willed woman, and Aeris could see very quickly why she was their leader. Haewin was a very kind and wise man, who always had some kind of insight to share.

Jera was a restless, outspoken guy who never seemed to take off his hat, which covered most of his scalp, and his ears. Since he was the closest to her own age, she had wanted to get to know him, but soon found herself repulsed by the way he seemed to regard her. It was almost as if he saw her as some strange animal he'd encountered during his adventures, rather than a being of intelligence. That annoyed her to no end, but for a deeper reason that she couldn't explain.

After being relentlessly questioned by him about her memories and degree of abilities, usually interrupted by the reprimands of Edeama and Haewin, Aeris had decided to stop initiating any conversation with him.

Finally, after five days of traveling, and outrunning several monsters along the way, the group arrived at the severely damaged plate that once completely covered the subterranean mega-city. They left their chocobos at the stable near the train station. Fortunately, they had come at the right time, since Meteor's damage had made it so that trains only came by the hour, rather than the usual fifteen minutes it had been.

To Aeris and her companions, though, there was no previous experience to call on. The group simply decided to find out what had happened to the city, as well as the Planet, once they were able to meet up with Aeris' mother, who would surely do her best to help her daughter in her time of need.

Finally, after a twenty-minute ride, the foursome arrived at the Sector 5 stop. It was then that Aeris realized how oddly dressed she and the others were. No one in Midgar was wearing a cloak, and Jera, especially looked out of place- dressed in knickers and a simple white long-sleeved shirt with a dark vest on top. He looked more like a well-groomed buccaneer than an ensign for an organization of space explorers.

Edeama and Haewin weren't that much better off. The red-haired leader dressed in what looked to be a long brown tunic with purple etched to the ends. She also wore what looked to be black spandex. Haewin was dressed similar to Edeama, only his tunic was green, and his leggings brown. While the two older people's outfits did look rather nice, Aeris knew it would make them stick out too much.

"If anyone asks," she told them, "We're part of a theater troupe,"

"Excuse me,"

The group turned to see a disheveled old man in filthy clothing standing behind them.

"Spare some change, my good people?" the man asked meekly.

"Change for what?" Jera wondered if he needed coins for laundry.

"For nothing," Aeris wondered how Jera didn't understand that the man was a beggar, "You give him money,"

Jera looked confused. "And then what happens…?"

Aeris sighed. "Nevermind," she dug into her bag and pulled out her gil, "I think I've got some smaller notes…"

"Wait," Jera stepped over to the man, remembering the address on Aeris' envelope, "Can you tell us how to get to 10 Church Avenue?"

"Can you spare a gil?" the man asked.

"If you can tell us how to get there," Jera answered.

The beggar pointed behind him. "Through Wall Market, and then when you reach the end, take a left. Not the first left- that'll just get you to the Honeybee Inn, but once you're actually out of the area. After that, just keep following the road, and you'll find it,"

"Thank you, sir!" Jera beamed, "Hey, Aeris- why don't we give him two…of whatever that money is,"

"Gil," she told him.

"Right," Jera nodded, "He's earned it for helping us. One good turn deserves another, doesn't it?"

Aeris handed the beggar two gil, which he thanked them for and promptly left. "You bought directions from a beggar?" she shook her head in disbelief.

"Of course," said Jera, "You think I'm just gonna let him give me directions without giving him something in return?"

"That's not what I meant," Aeris frowned, "I mean that people like him expect charity,"

Jera stared, "So it's wrong for me to make a fair exchange with him, but not for him to exploit your wallet?"

"No, that's not what I meant either…" Aeris fumbled for the right words.

"You don't mean a lot of things, do you?" Jera smirked.

"Jera, stop taunting our guest," Edeama scolded him as if he were a child, "Let's go before we start to forget the man's directions,"

_Jerk…_Aeris thought as they headed toward Wall Market. Now in addition to looking at her like a novelty item, he was twisting her words around as well. She hadn't meant anything by questioning his methods- she had just found it somewhat strange, and slightly amusing as well.

Edeama watched the people in wonder. "It's amazing how much the inhabitants of this planet resemble us," she observed.

"Yeah," Jera agreed, "but look at everyone. Look at how depressed everyone looks. And look at the area. It looks like something out a post-apocalyptic movie,"

"We still haven't found out just what it was that made the Planet cry out like it did," said Haewin.

"Hey, Aeris," Jera looked at the window of an electronics store, "Are these people advanced enough to have net access?"

Aeris looked confused. "…Um…the fishermen, maybe?" she shrugged.

Jera sighed. "Nevermind. We'll figure something out. There must be a way to account for our kin here,"

Aeris tilted her head to the side. "You know, I meant to tell you earlier- you look awfully strange for a Cetra. I saw you take your hat off in the mountains when you weren't watching,"

Jera grinned and lifted up his hat, revealing pointy and slightly elongated ears.

"So what's up with the ears?" Aeris asked.

Jera's eyes held a touch of pride as he readjusted his hat. "The first ever half-Cetra, half-Arydic. I'm one of a kind. Well, at least for the first three years of my life, I was. There's other half-bloods like me now, but only a few compared to the vast population of the planet Arylath,"

"The Cetra can breed with nearly any intelligent biped," Haewin piped up, "Half-bloods aren't that uncommon,"

"I believe I see the left turn the beggar was talking about in the distance," Edeama observed, "Let's keep going,"

* * *

After about fifteen more minutes of walking, Aeris spotted a street sign bearing the name "Church Avenue" on it. Pleased that their journey was going smoothly, the group followed the numbers down the run-down street until they passed an old, dilapidated church. 

"Wait," Edeama held up a hand. The other stopped.

"What is it?" Aeris frowned.

"She senses another kindred spirit," Jera answered for the older woman, "Isn't that right, Ms. Edeama?"

Edeama nodded.

"But look!" Aeris pointed at the fallen steeple that blocked the doorway, "There isn't even a way inside,"

"Isn't there?" Jera walked over to the doorway and looked around. He then saw a small opening toward the bottom, which he immediately began to crawl through, "Half of the door is gone beyond here,"

Aeris' curiosity got the best of her, and she removed her cloak, setting it down next to her belongings.

"It looks like you're on your own," Haewin remarked dryly, gazing at his portly midsection. "I won't be fitting through there anytime soon,".

"I'll stay here as well," Edeama announced.

Aeris nodded and went over to the opening, got down on her hands and knees, and proceeded to crawl through, only to hear the sound of someone being struck, and a loud grunt from Jera.

"Are you all right?" Aeris asked as she made it to the other side.

A few feet away from her, Jera lay on the floor moaning and rubbing his bleeding temple. Standing over him on one of the pews was a small boy, dressed shabbily in an oversized red jacket, filthy khaki pants, and an equally dirty white T-shirt. His hair stood out from his otherwise unkempt appearance, neatly trimmed in a crew-cut, as if he'd managed somehow to get a haircut only days ago, despite living in obvious poverty.

In his hands he held a large splinter of wood, and even though he was the attacker, he looked absolutely terrified. He was breathing heavily, and small beads of perspiration were starting to show on his forehead.

"You little runt!!" Jera nimbly sprang to his feet and quickly grabbed the club from the boy's hands. The boy instantly jumped off the pew and began to run, only to trip and fall into the flower garden, the weeds having long since been cleared.

"Are you all right?" Aeris walked over to the boy and knelt down next to him.

"The flowers!" the boy wailed as he scrambled to his feet unhurt, "I ruined the flowers! I don't know how to plant any more of them!"

Tears welled up in his eyes, but were almost instantly replaced by fury as he turned to Jera, who stood there glaring at him. "You made me kill the flowers!" he then tried to charge at Jera.

Aeris grabbed his arm, preventing him from going any further. "Hang on!" she urged him, "Those flowers will be fine. They're quite resilient,"

Just then, an image appeared in her mind of a blond man with spiky hair.

"How would you know?!" the boy cried, "I've never seen you before in my life!"

"I…don't know," Aeris admitted, frustrated that those words seemed to be every other sentence she spoke.

"Why are you here, anyway?" the boy eyed Aeris and Jera suspiciously, "You're not another one of those undercover Turks, are you?"

Another memory made its way into Aeris' mind, this time, of her hiding behind a woman's skirt while a man with long black hair in a topknot argued with the woman.

"There are Turks after you?!" Aeris' voice took on a hint of panic.

"What are Turks?" Jera asked.

"You're an idiot," the boy said flatly.

"Care to repeat that?!"

"We're not here to hurt you," Aeris reassured the boy, "I'm just trying to find my mother is all,"

"She's not here," the child replied coldly, "This is where I live- no one else,"

"But where's your family?" Aeris asked.

"Dead," the boy responded, as if he were talking about the weather, "And all I know about them is that my father's middle name was James, and I was named after him,"

"Well, we're not Turks, James," Aeris stated gently.

"That's _Jimmy_," the boy corrected.

"Aeris, let's just leave the kid alone," Jera said impatiently as he held up his hand to his forehead, "We'll go find your mother and we can all get on with our lives,"

He then took off his hat and closed his eyes, and the wound instantly closed up.

His actions weren't lost on Jimmy. "How did you do that?!" he demanded.

"You should know…" Jera smirked.

"But I'm the only one alive who can do that!" Jimmy protested, "The only other person who could do that _died_ two months before Meteor struck! That's what that creep Hojo said two days before the Shinra building collapsed,"

"Died?" Jera looked interested, "On June 27th, 2386?"

"I don't know the exact date," Jimmy shook his head, "But the year sounds right,"

"So it's 2387?" Aeris asked him.

"Duh!" Jimmy rolled his eyes.

"Hey, go easy on her!" Jera defended, "She lost her memory!"

"How?" Jimmy was instantly curious.

"It's complicated," Jera replied.

"Try me," Jimmy grinned arrogantly, "I'm a lot smarter than I look,"

"Whatever," Jera muttered, turning toward the crawlspace, "I'm outta here. Let's go, Aeris,"

"Wait!" Jimmy pleaded, "If you're not dead after all, then those people who are after me will come after you once they find out!"

"I'm not the one they thought was dead," Jera pointed at Aeris, "She is,"

Jimmy looked up at Aeris. "You??" he exclaimed, "So then what's _he_ supposed to be?"

"You know what aliens are, right?" Aeris asked him.

"That explains the freaky ears!" Jimmy grinned again.

Jera muttered something under his breath.

"But he's one of us as well," Aeris pointed out.

"Then they'll come after all of us!" Jimmy's voice was filled with panic again, "Are you leaving Midgar at any point?"

"I'm not sure about Aeris, but I'll be leaving with the others," Jera answered.

"There's others?!" Jimmy's eyes went wide and he ran over to Jera, "Please!" he begged, "Take me with you!"

"Why?" Jera snorted, "You cracked me over the head with a piece of wood!"

"I thought you were a Turk in plainclothes!" Jimmy insisted, "Lately, people dressed in regular clothes have been coming after me now,"

"Jera, let him come with us!" Aeris pleaded, "He shouldn't have to live in a crumbling church. You can take him back to Aesiria where he'll be safe,"

"Is that your home planet?" Jimmy looked at Jera in wonder.

"It's the name of that ghost city up on the Northern Continent," Aeris told him.

"What about you?" Jera asked Aeris.

"Once we find my mother, we'll figure it out from there," Aeris answered.

Jera sighed. "All right," he relented, "I suppose Ms. Edeama would have my scalp if she knew we let one of our kind alone to fend for himself, especially a little kid. Gather your things and let's go,"


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Bittersweet Reunion

"The boy is gone, sir,"

"…You're sure about this?"

"It's been three whole days. There's been no sign of him at all,"

"I see. He must have found a way out of Midgar without our noticing. Send word to our people outside. There's only a few places he could have escaped to…"

* * *

Aeris and company stood outside of Kalm. Jimmy was asleep on Haewin's shoulders. After finally making it to Aeris' house in Sector 5, she had discovered a piece of paper in the mailbox indicating a change of address. They set off for Kalm, only to lose their compass while fleeing from monsters. After three days of getting lost, the party finally managed to arrive at the town gates.

"Well, here we are," Aeris observed, "Good thing- this money wasn't going to last forever…"

"So how are you gonna go about this?" Jera asked her.

Aeris shrugged. "Find a phonebook, look up her address, and find her,"

"Yeah, and give her a heart attack?" Jera raised an eyebrow, "Everyone thinks you're dead!"

"There's really no other choice," said Edeama, "We could accompany you, if you wish. It may make the explanation easier,"

Aeris smiled. "Thank you- I appreciate that,"

Jimmy mumbled something in his sleep.

"Poor kid…" Aeris' eyes shone with concern, "He's had nightmares every night since we took him in,"

"And I've noticed it's always _your_ bosom he seeks comfort in when he wakes up, the little lech…" Jera leered.

"Jealous?" Aeris taunted.

"Of you? Or him?" Jera laughed defensively, "Either possibility is ridiculous,"

"It's late," Edeama decided to change the subject, "Let's find an inn. We might as well get some sleep before we look for Aeris' mother,"

* * *

Tifa Lockheart checked carefully to make sure everything was in place at her restaurant before she was ready to open the doors. A small crowd of people had already gathered outside, much to her delight.

She had made the down payment on the restaurant two months after Meteor hit, with her share of the money made from her days in Avalanche. Wanting to do her part to help out after Meteor, she and Cloud had both decided on Kalm. One reason was because the quiet city reminded them of Nibelheim, their old hometown.

The other reason was partially Cloud's idea: to keep en eye on Aeris' adoptive mother Elmyra, who had moved there after being escorted out of Midgar by Reeve. The woman had sunk into a deep depression after Aeris' death, and Tifa knew Cloud still felt guilty about not being able to save their friend. She managed to visit every week or so, trying her hardest to lift the broken woman's spirits, but her daughter's death was the final blow in Elmyra's already hard life.

Still, if there was one thing Tifa had learned from the tragedy, it was that life was precious…and that she had to live it to the fullest. Though she would much rather have opened up a dojo and passed Zangan's teachings to yet another generation of students, Tifa knew that food was a much more lucrative career…for now.

Filled with hope that she might someday achieve her real dream, she smiled at her employees, and opened the doors.

"Welcome to Final Heaven," Tifa greeted everyone with a smile.

* * *

Aeris wandered around the streets of downtown Kalm. So far, the morning hadn't been very productive. Elmyra Gainsborough had turned out to have an unlisted number, leaving Aeris to simply walk up and down the streets while the others had decided to stay at the inn. Once Aeris found out where her mother was living, she'd planned to gather everyone else to help her explain everything. She'd spent the rest of the morning glancing at people's doors, hoping that one of them might have the name "Gainsborough" on it.

She'd had a brief flash of…something, when she'd left the inn and glanced back at it.

_Cloud…you're late…!_

Aeris had frowned at the words that had popped into her head. Cloud? Was that a person, or had she been talking to the sky?

So she had been here before. She'd lived in Midgar, traveled to Kalm, and "died" in Aesiria. Where else had she traveled to?

Putting the question in the back of her mind for the moment, Aeris continued to look around the area.

* * *

Jera sat at a small table at the front window of Final Heaven, glancing around him. The place was packed, he noted. He hoped he wouldn't have to wait very long before his food was ready.

"Welcome to Final Heaven," Tifa came over to his table, "I'll be taking your order, if you're all set,"

"I'll take a glass of water for now," Jera smiled.

"Right away," Tifa beamed as she headed for the kitchen.

_Dear Planet…_Jera smiled once she was out of sight, _this _is_ final Heaven!_ He picked up the menu and began to read, only to remember that he couldn't decipher this world's alphabet for the life of him.

"Here you are," Tifa placed a glass of ice water on the table.

"Wow, that was fast," Jera observed, "Um…any recommendations?"

"House special," Tifa suggested, "Hamburger with our special vitamin drink. Gives you a boost bigger than coffee, yet is still perfectly healthy and safe,"

"Excellent!" Jera exclaimed, "I'll take that, and…is that…ham…burger any good?"

"You sound as if you've never had a burger before," Tifa tried not to giggle.

"Well, it sounds exotic," Jera commented, oblivious to Tifa's amusement, "I'll take it,"

"I don't mean to pry," Tifa looked at him, "but I haven't seen you around before,"

"I'm from out of town," Jera said simply, "I travel a lot,"

"I see…" Tifa was tempted to ask about his archaic-looking clothes, but decided not to intrude any further. "Coming right up!" Tifa wrote down her customer's order and headed back toward the kitchen.

* * *

A couple minutes later, Tifa came back again.

"Here's your drink," Tifa placed what looked like a green milkshake in front of him, "By the way, I like your hat,"

Jera touched his longshoreman's cap absently. "Oh…thanks,"

"Where'd you get it?"

"Arylath," Jera said absently, before he realized what he'd just said.

"…Is that the name of a store?" Tifa frowned.

"Yes," Jera covered, "But it closed down,"

Suddenly, the door opened and Aeris burst inside, looking panicked. Jera could hear sirens outside.

"Jera!" Aeris went over to him, "I think I might have found my mother. Some middle-aged woman just fainted in the street the minute she saw me. She said my name too. I'm sure of it!"

"And you just left her there?" Jera asked her, not paying any attention to Tifa, who stood rooted in shock.

"No, they're taking her to the hospital right now," Aeris went on, "I tried to tell them that I thought I knew her, but since I can't remember, the paramedics sent me away,"

"Then go to the hospital and find her!" Jera told her, "I can't vouch for you,"

There was a sudden crash. Aeris and Jera turned to see Tifa lying on the ground in a faint.

"Does this mean I'm not getting any food…?" Jera deadpanned.

Aeris gave him a look of death.

* * *

After Meteor, Kalm's hospital had been bursting to the seams with refugees from Midgar. Doctors and nurses had been running themselves ragged trying to give equal attention to all of their patients. Now, however, things had pretty much returned to normal, and the building was quiet and calm, much like the town itself.

"So…who exactly are you?" Jera asked Tifa as they sat on a bench outside one of the rooms.

While Tifa had recovered just fine, the shock of seeing Aeris alive and well had taken its toll on Elmyra's already fragile health. The older woman had been admitted and was resting in the room nearby with Aeris inside.

"She really doesn't know who I am…?" Tifa looked crestfallen.

"Aeris has been suffering from amnesia since she first woke up," Jera explained to her.

"But I _saw_ Aeris die!" Tifa shook her head in disbelief, "I saw Sephiroth's blade go right through her stomach! We cast dozens of the most powerful cure spells, we gave her phoenix downs, all of our elixirs, and she did _not_ get back up! How could she have come back from the dead? It's impossible!"

"You're right," Jera acknowledged, putting aside his desire to ask about Sephiroth, "Coming back from the dead _is_ impossible. But that's just it- Aeris was never dead to begin with. To make a long story short, her Cetra blood kept her body in suspended animation until her wounds could be healed. We call that state Limbo,"

"How could you tell she wasn't dead?"

"Well, first of all, we could sense her presence in the lake," Jera recalled, "When a Cetra dies, one can no longer sense them if the body is nearby. And also, Aeris didn't bleed from her wound. There weren't any stains on her clothes or anything,"

_That's right…_Tifa remembered, _she never bled…I'd always thought it was because Sephiroth had made such a clean cut…_

"Plus, she hadn't decomposed at all, even while resting in a lake," Jera added.

Tifa cringed. "Oh god, we put her in that cold lake for so long…!"

"Don't worry about that," Jera waved his hand dismissively, "She couldn't feel anything. And even if you knew about limbo back then, your people lacked the knowledge to bring her back. They can only be done by an experienced Cetra healer. So don't feel guilty about this,"

"And who are you anyway?" Tifa asked.

Jera looked around to make sure no one was within hearing range. "I'm part of a private organization of Cetran explorers," he whispered.

"But Aeris was supposed to be the last living Cetra!" Tifa whispered back.

"On this planet, Aeris is indeed one of the last living Cetra," Jera replied, "But we found one more running around in Midgar. Though…something about his aura seems…off,"

"Midgar, huh?" Tifa looked thoughtful, "That would make sense…maybe Hojo had more Cetra locked away for his experiments,"

"Who's Hojo?" Jera looked curious.

"The bane of Aeris' existence," Tifa mumbled unhappily, "He tried numerous times to have her captured so he could experiment on her. He was also responsible for the deaths of her parents,"

"But Aeris' mother…" Jera looked at the door of the room Aeris and Elmyra were in.

"Elmyra Gainsborough adopted Aeris when she was seven," Tifa clarified, "Her birth mother died trying to get Aeris to safety,"

"Geez…" Jera looked at the floor. He certainly knew firsthand what Aeris had been through. Though now wasn't the time to dwell on his own past…

"Jera!"

The two looked up and saw Edeama, Haewin, and Jimmy hurrying down the hall toward them.

"We got your page and came as fast as we could," Edeama said as she stopped in front of the two.

"Who…?" Tifa looked at Jera.

"This is Edeama Kedinn, captain of our humble ship that brought us here," Jera introduced the two. "And our navigator Haewin Rogas,"

"Pleased to meet you," Tifa bowed her head.

"This is Tifa Lockheart," Jera indicated the young woman, "She's a good friend of Aeris, and apparently, a friend of the Cetra as well,"

"What, am I chocobo poop?" Jimmy crossed his arms, annoyed,

"And that's Jimmy," Jera said unenthusiastically, "He's the one we found in Midgar,"

Tifa knelt down before the boy. "From Shinra?" she asked gently.

Jimmy nodded. Tifa immediately gave him a hug, which made him turn extremely red.

"What was that for?" Jimmy asked, embarrassed.

"I figured you probably didn't get enough of those living there," Tifa smiled at him as she stood up and stepped back.

Jimmy squirmed uncomfortably.

"Geez, suck it up!" Jera rolled his eyes, "It's just a hug,"

Jimmy glared at him. "I have to go to the _bathroom_, dufus!"

"Jera, could you please take him?" Edeama asked.

"Fine," Jera stifled a sigh, knowing he couldn't disobey his superiors, "Let's go…"

"How is Aeris' mother?" Edeama asked after they left, "And Aeris, for that matter?"

As if on cue, the door opened, and a very shaken looking Aeris walked out.

"Are you okay?" Tifa placed a hand on her old friend's shoulder.

"I didn't know what to do," Aeris said quietly, "I managed to tell her everything I knew. Then she just held my hand and cried. I tried so hard to remember…but I can't! She said it didn't matter, so long as I was back for good,"

Tifa smiled and blinked back tears. She was glad that Elmyra could finally start healing. The woman had been granted a miracle, and had her daughter back safe and sound. She knew that not many people got that kind of second chance.

"She's asleep now," Aeris sat down on the bench where Jera had been sitting, "Tifa, right?"

Tifa nodded.

"Did…you see what happened the day I ended up in the lake?" Aeris asked slowly.

"Yeah," Tifa bit her lip, "I saw it all,"

"Tell me," Aeris wanted to know.

"It's not that simple," Tifa sighed, "I think I'd actually have to start from two months before it happened. It's a long story, though,"

"Perhaps we should see if this hospital has anything to eat," Edeama suggested to Haewin. One could tell that the two older Cetra were curious as to what happened, but clearly it would be hard enough for Tifa to explain, even without an audience.

Haewin grunted in agreement, and the two left the young women alone.

* * *

"…And then Cloud decided that you should be laid to rest in the same land as your people, rather than having your body sent to Midgar," Tifa finished shakily.Aeris stared at the floor, digesting all the information she had been given.

Suddenly, Tifa burst into tears.

"I'm sorry…" Tifa wept, "I promised myself I'd be strong for your sake…I know you don't remember me and all, but…oh god, Aeris, I missed you so much!"

She threw her arms around Aeris, who looked slightly uncomfortable, but rubbed Tifa's back reassuringly and let her cry.

_Guess I'll just have to expect these kinds of reactions for a little while longer…_

"Where is Cloud?" Aeris asked when Tifa had finally regained her composure, "He seemed like an important part of my life. I'd like to see him. Maybe I'll remember something,"

Tifa closed her eyes, trying to fight the old hint of jealousy that always crept up inside of her where Aeris and Cloud were concerned. _Stop it, Tifa!! She's alive, isn't she? She's your friend first, rival last!_

"The prejudice against Shinra got so bad that it's been impossible for him to find work," Tifa let out a sigh, "Since he has mako eyes, it's immediately assumed that he's a SOLDIER, even though he was just a trooper. He moved to Kalm with me, but right now, he's working on a cargo ship bound for Costa Del Sol,"

"But he saved the world!" Aeris protested, "And so did you! That just seems so ridiculous!"

Tifa smiled sadly. "I didn't expect a heroes' welcome when we finished our journey. It's life. No one's ever grateful,"

"But that's not right!" Aeris insisted.

"Oh, god…" Jera came running back, looking around frantically, "Oh, god- how could this happen?!"

"Where's Jimmy?" Aeris asked.

"I don't know!" Jera was starting to panic.

Aeris stood up. "What do you mean, you don't know?!"

"I mean, I just went off to look at the vending machines while he was taking a leak!" Jera clutched his head in his hand, "And then when I came back, he didn't come out! I went in the bathroom and checked, but all the stalls were empty! I've been looking for him for the past fifteen minutes…I found Ms. Edeama and Sir Haewin, and they're looking for him too, but…"

"I can't believe you!!" Aeris exclaimed, "He's only six years old!"

"But that runt's not like other kids his age!" Jera argued, "He's too damn smart to get lost! He may be annoying as hell, but the boy's got some serious brains to have lived on his own for a year!"

"But he's still missing, isn't he?" Aeris retorted.

"Guys!" Tifa stood between them as if she expected them to start taking swings at each other, "Let's just stop with the bickering and go look for him! This isn't that big a hospital, so we should be able to find him soon! Did you look outside? He might have found the playground out back,"

"There's a playground??" Jera looked incredibly relieved.

"Yeah- just relax," Tifa patted Jera's shoulder, "Let's go outside,"

"Lead the way," Aeris gestured ahead of her.

Tifa quickly led the others down the hallway.

"If he's there…" Jera growled, "I'm gonna wring his little neck…or maybe break his legs…!"

"Sounds like you two don't get along very well…" Tifa chuckled as they reached the door.

"You have no idea…" Aeris rolled her eyes, "They're always at each other's throats. Each one insisting that _they're_ right and that the other is completely wrong. Sometimes, I don't know which one of them is the kid,"

"Oh, shut up!" Jera snapped as they rounded the corner of the hospital.

Aeris turned to Tifa and shrugged helplessly. Tifa snickered and quickened her pace.

"Here we are-" Tifa stopped short and stared ahead of her in horror.

The playground was deserted, save for the commotion happening right next to the parking lot. Near a parked van were two men in familiar-looking blue suits carrying a struggling Jimmy toward it.

* * *

"_Aeris?!"_

"_Don't worry!" Aeris leaned out the door to the helicopter. "She's safe-!"  
A black-haired man in a blue suit belted her across the face and shoved her back inside._

* * *

Aeris blinked in stunned silence for a couple seconds at the sudden memory. "Hey!!!" she yelled angrily as she ran over toward the van.

"Aeris, wait!!!" Tifa called after her.

"Whatever…" Jera threw his hands up in the air in resignation and ran after her.

"So much for living out the rest of my life in peace…" Tifa shook her head and began to run as well.

Aeris impulsively jumped on the back of one of the Turks and began clawing at his hands in an attempt to make him let go of Jimmy.

_She's got moxie- that's for sure…_Jera couldn't help but acknowledge.

"I'm not getting paid to put up with this shit," muttered one of the Turks as he took out a small canister and threw it at Tifa and Jera. The canister exploded, releasing a large cloud of gas. The two collapsed within seconds.

"No!!!" Aeris and Jimmy shrieked at the same time.

The door of the van then opened, and another Turk lunged out, clamping a rag over Aeris' mouth. A moment later, she dropped to the ground unconscious.

"What did you do to her?!" Jimmy cried.

"Shut up or we'll do it to you too," the Turk in the van ordered, "Get them all inside quick, before anyone else spots us…"

* * *

"She's moving…wait a second…"

Aeris opened her eyes and stared ahead, seeing one small light bulb on a drab grey ceiling. A second later, Jera and Tifa's faces appeared over her as well.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her.

A sudden wave of nausea passed over Aeris. "Sick…" she gurgled, wondering what that rag had been dipped in before it had been used on her.

"Will this help?"

Aeris closed her eyes, trying to fight the sickness, when she felt a warm sensation pass through her body.

_What…is this…?_

She opened her eyes, only to realize that the nausea had passed. Slowly, she sat up and looked at Jera.

"You'll be okay," Jera reassured her, "Mild poisoning. Any half-assed Esuna spell can take care of it,"

"Where are we?" Aeris looked around, seeing a room with concrete walls, no windows, and a large wooden door.

"Must be some kind of Turk base," Tifa sighed, "Those scumbags never change!"

"Who the hell are these Turks anyway?" Jera wanted to know.

"They're bad news," Tifa shook her head in disgust, "Murder, kidnapping…you name it,"

"So they're some kind of mob specializing in organized crime?" Jera looked at Tifa.

Tifa laughed bitterly, "The irony is that they're supposed to help _enforce_ the law these days. Should have known it was a load of crap,"

"Where's Jimmy?" Aeris interrupted.

Tifa shrugged helplessly. "We haven't seen him since we woke up an hour ago,"

Aeris' unfounded fears came rushing back, and she scrambled to her feet. She ran over to the door and began turning the knob desperately.

"Aeris…don't you think that if the door opened, we'd have left already?" Jera pointed out.

"I can't let them hurt him!" Aeris whirled around, "He's just a kid! He doesn't deserve to be held somewhere against his will!"

_She's about ready to snap…_Tifa thought. _I've never seen her like this before…_

Jera stood up and went over to the door. "Aeris…relax," he laid a hand on her shoulder, "I'll take care of it. I wanted to wait until you were awake so we wouldn't have to carry you out, so…"

He gently guided Aeris away from the door, and then walked back to it. His eyes narrowed, and he stared intensely at the doorknob. Smoke began to rise from the area, and within seconds, the area around the doorknob burst into flames.

Both Aeris and Tifa yelped in surprise. Jera turned around and grinned at them.

"You had materia on you??" Tifa stared at Jera confusedly, "And you managed to hide it from the Turks?!"

"I don't need materia," Jera said matter-of-factly, "Not when it comes to creating an inferno. Comes with a price, though. My healing spells suck. If Aeris had been poisoned worse, I probably couldn't help,"

"That's nice and all," Aeris coughed, "But the smoke is starting to fill the room!"

Tifa went over to the door, waving her hands in a futile attempt to clear some of the smoke away. She then stepped back, and knocked the burning door open with a perfectly executed sidekick.

"Damn!" Jera was impressed.

"Yeah, I know," Tifa chuckled, "Let's go,"

The three young adults stepped out of the room and looked around. They stood at the end of a long hallway. At the end, it split into two directions. There were no other doors in sight.

"What way should we go?" Aeris asked as they reached the fork.

"...Let's go right!" Tifa said, "Hurry- they'll figure out we've escaped soon enough- we don't have time to waste!"

Tifa was right on the money. They didn't make it very far before a Turk saw them. She immediately whipped out a walkie-talkie.

"They've escaped!" she yelled, "Send backup here immediately! I'm on the-!"

Tifa punched the Turk in the face. The woman fell back, hitting her head against the wall, and collapsed.

"Keep going!" Tifa shoved her friends into action. They kept running down the hallway until they reached another end. The door opened and two raven-haired men stepped out. One wore a Turk uniform, while the other wore an old red cape over a black jumpsuit. A matching red headband kept his unruly black hair out of his face, but what stood out were his blood-red eyes, and a metal, claw-like left hand.

Jera immediately lunged at the Turk, but Tifa held him back.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Jera barked.

Aeris stepped forward and regarded the two men. "Where is he?? He's just a little boy! Why can't you leave him alone?"

She then recognized the black-haired Turk .

"And if you think you're going to hit me again, you've got another thing coming, buddy!" she yelled.

"And why are you guys trying to hold us here?" Jera added angrily, "I've never even seen you before!"

The two men said nothing, but only stared at Aeris in utter disbelief.

Jera waved a hand in front of their faces. "HELLO!!! Eyes on me, please!"

The Turk stepped forward hesitantly. "Aeris?? It can't be…"

"It is," Tifa affirmed, "Good to see you again, Vincent. Tseng- I see you're finally back on your feet. Didn't expect to find you two here, though."

"Oh, Tifa!" Vincent blinked, "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to protect Jimmy," Tifa answered angrily, "Don't tell me you two are in on this!"

Aeris looked bewildered. "Wait- do I know you?"

"What the hell is going on here?!" Jera exploded.

Tifa giggled. "Sorry, Tseng, but it looks like you, Cloud and I aren't the only people to survive Sephiroth's Masamune. I'll tell you everything if you'll tell us what's going on…"


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 5: Kalm Before The Storm

Brilliant.

It was the only word Yuffie could come up with to describe herself. Her now illegal materia collection had gone up five times in value, as she had discovered when a youth in Junon had seen her orbs and offered her a hefty amount for a simple chocobo lure- one of many in her possession. That one innocent, yet unlawful transaction had been the beginning of a major clearing out of materia. Eventually, she had made the money she'd planned to make for Wutai's restoration. She knew it would at least be enough to get things started. Still, it would be up to the people from here on out.

She had stopped off at home, leaving several wads of gil notes in the lap of her speechless father before going down to her room and collecting the rest of her materia, leaving behind only her precious Leviathan orb. She had done her part for Wutai. It was time to start living for herself until the time came for her to decide what to do about her nobility.

And live, she did! The remainder of her materia had earned her a small fortune as she traveled the Western Continent, ridding herself of her prized collection, now a legal burden.

_Yeah, it's illegal, but I'm always one step ahead of anyone who would try to stop me…hah- I'm _rich!_ No wonder people break the law!_

Yuffie grinned despite herself as she rode her chocobo through the plains that stood between Midgar and Kalm.

_Hmm…I wonder what Tifa's up to…?_

* * *

"Oh, thank the Planet you're safe!" Elmyra hugged her daughter in the front yard of her small house, "When you didn't come back, I was almost convinced it had all been a dream or a hallucination…!"

Elmyra had been released from the hospital that morning, but had been worried sick when she hadn't heard from Aeris or Tifa.

Aeris grinned. "Now, Mom- don't go fainting on me again! This was all just a misunderstanding. We're fine. The Turks are our friends now,"

Elmyra seemed to relax. "Good," she said as she picked up a newspaper from the front steps and rolled it up, "Then since you're all right…"

She raised the newspaper and brought it down swiftly on Aeris' head…and did so several more times.

"Ow- ow!!! What are you doing?!" Aeris cried out as she covered her head in defense.

"How could you do something so stupid as to run off with strangers that day?!" Elmyra shrieked, "And then you had to go off on your own and get yourself into such a situation where you let everyone think you were dead for over a year?! _How could you put me through this_?!" at the last sentence, she whacked Aeris on every syllable.

Tifa was tempted to rescue her friend from the older woman's almost comical outburst, if not for the fact that she secretly felt the same way about Aeris running off to face Sephiroth on her own. Jera and Jimmy were too dumbstruck to say or do anything in Aeris' defense.

"I don't remember, Mom!" Aeris whined as she backed away and hid behind Tifa, "That's the whole problem!"

"Yeah, relax, Mrs. Gainsborough," Tifa laughed nervously, "Don't worry- Aeris will get her memory back, and we'll _both_ set her straight, all right?"

"Oh, I feel so much better…" Aeris growled.

"I don't wanna live with some mean old lady who's gonna whack me with newspapers for stuff I can't remember doing!" Jimmy protested as he gestured toward Jera, "I'd rather stay with Elf-boy!"

"I'm a demi-Arydic, not an elf," Jera told the boy sharply, "If you'd even _been_ to Elfheim, you'd know that,"

"You mean elves really _do_ exist?" Jimmy was intrigued.

"Uh, Mom, this is Jimmy and Jera. I was actually hoping that Jimmy could stay with us for a little while,"

"Oh!" Elmyra caught herself, "Oh my…I do apologize for what you just saw,"

"You hit Aeris," Jimmy stated.

"Just a rolled-up newspaper," Elmyra said dismissively, before her expression turned strict. "But every mother has to discipline her child, and Aeris is no exception,"

"What did Aeris do?" Jimmy asked.

"You could say she ran away from home," Elmyra told him.

"What?!" Jimmy exclaimed, "_She_ runs away and she gets hit with a newspaper! _I_ run away and I got put in a room with no windows for a week?! I'll stay with the newspaper-lady, thanks,"

He walked inside the front door.

"Aeris…?" Elmyra glanced at her adopted daughter, puzzled at the boy's boldness.

"I'll explain everything to you once we're inside and sitting down," Aeris sighed.

"I'll get out of your hair for now," Tifa said, "You've got my number. Call me if you need anything,"

"Thank you, Tifa," Elmyra called after her.

* * *

While Aeris, Jimmy, and Elmyra sat inside Elmyra's house, Edeama was deep in conversation with Jera and Haewin on the street corner. The three Cetra glanced around occasionally to make sure no one was around.

"I've realized how extremely vulnerable we are here on this world," she told them, "Strength in numbers is everything. I've also contacted Elehar and Cadia, and told them to take Sierra and go back to the ship for the time being,"

Tifa couldn't help but overhear as she approached the trio. "You have a spaceship?"

"No, we walked to this planet," Jera smirked good-naturedly, "Of course we have a spaceship! It's currently orbiting the Planet. But the others kept the control that can beam them back to the ship. I guess they would be safer there until we call the other members of the Coalition,"

Tifa frowned. "Coalition?"

"The Independent Coalition of Space Exploration," Jera clarified, "Second only to the government-sponsored Federation of Cetran Explorers. But those are just a bunch of idiots who talk a lot and do very little. We're more about, you know, actually _exploring_ the universe,"

"You're gonna call more Ancients- sorry- more Cetra here?" Tifa asked him.

Haewin nodded. "That's why the others have been exploring Aesiria while we've been traveling. Since the area is deserted, and since the Cetra would be outsiders for the moment, it's a perfect place to get settled in peace,"

Tifa frowned. "It all sounds so risky. Why settle in a place where you don't feel safe?"

Jera laughed lightly. "A little danger never hurt anyone,"

"I had hoped that Aeris and Jimmy would be accompanying us back to Aesiria," Edeama looked slightly disappointed as she glanced at Elmyra's house, "But perhaps now that they have people to look out for them, they'll be all right,"

"It's a shame, though," Haewin said ruefully, "I don't know about Aeris, but it's obvious that Jimmy barely has a clue about his heritage,"

"You talk as if you'll never see Aeris and Jimmy again," Tifa folded her arms, "You're just going to the City of the- I mean, Aesiria. We've stopped by there before. I'm sure Aeris will visit…and so can you,"

"Ah, Sir Haewin's just being dramatic," Jera grinned, "So when should we take off?"

"I actually was thinking that we might stick around for a few days longer," Edeama confessed, "We haven't had much opportunity to rest, and this town seems like the perfect little vacation spot. Three or four days isn't long enough to attract any potential enemies,"

"A good idea," Haewin agreed.

Jera shrugged. "All right, then. I suppose I could use the break,"

* * *

Elmyra had wanted to prepare dinner for Aeris and her long-lost brother, but Aeris insisted on cooking instead.

"You just got out of the hospital," Aeris had told her, "The doctors told you to _rest_. So it's my turn to take care of you,"

She'd felt slightly guilty about not inviting Tifa or the other Cetra, but figured that Elmyra would be better off with less guests to worry about. Still, dinner had been a cheerful occasion, and Aeris had enjoyed every minute of it.

After dinner, she decided to take a walk around the park near Elmyra's small house. She didn't walk very far before spotting a familiar figure sprawled across one of the benches.

Jera noticed her and waved.

Aeris walked up to him. "I heard you decided to stay after all?"

"Just for a few more days," Jera sat up and moved to one side of the bench to make room for her.

"Jera…" Aeris sat down next to him, "That trick you pulled when you got us out of that room…you said you didn't have any materia?"

"Ah, I figured either you or Tifa would ask me about that eventually," Jera nodded, "What you saw was the other half of my heritage. The Arydic are a bit of an antithesis of the Cetra. While the Cetra have innate white magic, the Arydic have innate black magic. Being a cross of the two, I guess I have innate…red magic? Though like I said- my white magic sucks,"

Aeris was impressed. "Wow. Yeah, you've told me very little about yourself. You said there aren't many of you?"

"Yep," Jera replied, "Arylath was discovered by the Cetra only twenty-six years ago. I was the first Arydic demi-Cetra ever born. There's probably a handful of us at best,"

"You don't have any brothers or sisters?"

Jera shook his head. "After I was born, my parents took me with them on their travels, like Cadia and Elehar do with Sierra. I don't know if the others told you, but my father was the founder of the Coalition. He and my mother were too busy to have other kids. They were wonderful to me, though. But…when I was five, they were killed by wild animals during a routine scouting of another planet,"

Aeris looked away. "…I'm so sorry,"

"Don't be," Jera smiled sadly, "It's the risk you take in this line of work. They knew it. But it was after they died that I began to realize that I was an outsider among both the Cetra and the Arydic. I'm sure you've felt it too. Not really one, or the other…"

"…I always figured it was because I'd just met the others," Aeris said slowly.

"Ugh, I'm sorry…" Jera sighed, "I didn't mean to get you all caught up in my personal angst. I know I talk too much,"

"…As long as you're aware," Aeris smirked slightly.

"Yeah, yeah…" Jera rolled his eyes, "So how was dinner…?

* * *

Elmyra glanced at the clock as she sat in the kitchen reading a book. Ten-thirty. Aeris had gone off to see a movie with Tifa an hour ago, and Jimmy was sleeping in the guest room.

She knew she shouldn't be glancing at the clock like she was. Aeris was a grown woman…albeit a grown woman whom Elmyra had already thought she'd lost once before. Granted, it was a trip to the movies, not another mission to save the Planet from evil. Tifa did have her PHS on her, and tomorrow, Elmyra would take Aeris to get a new phone for herself.

Just then, Jimmy walked into the room wearing a brand-new pair of pajamas, and looking somewhat distressed.

Elmyra looked at him, concerned. "Jimmy, shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"I had a nightmare," Jimmy explained, "Where's Aeris?"

"She'll be out for another hour or so," said Elmyra, "She's at the movies with Tifa. What was the dream about?"

"Professor Hojo," Jimmy answered simply.

"Hmm…" Elmyra stood up and gestured toward the chair, "Why don't you sit down right here?"

Jimmy obeyed and sat down.

Elmyra went over the refrigerator.

"When Aeris first came to live with me, she used to have nightmares too," Elmyra took a carton of milk out and poured a small glass, setting it down on the table before Jimmy. "So I'd pour her a glass of milk and let her tell me what happened,"

"Is Professor Hojo gonna come back?" Jimmy asked suddenly.

"No. Jimmy, don't ever worry about that," Elmyra reassured him, "Hojo's dead. He's never coming back. Not for you, or Aeris,"

Jimmy took a gulp of milk and set the glass back down. "But they told me my sister was dead, and she's not," He took another drink.

"No," Elmyra corrected him, "They only _thought_ Aeris was dead. But her being an Ancient saved her. Hojo wasn't an Ancient. And Tifa says she saw him die,"

"Okay," Jimmy finished the glass of milk, which Elmyra promptly took over to the sink to rinse out, "But he still comes after me when I'm sleeping. I know it's just a dream…but still…"

Elmyra smiled at the boy. "Would you like one of Aeris' old stuffed animals to keep you safe? I'm sure she wouldn't mind,"

Jimmy stared confusedly. "…How can an inanimate object protect me from a dream?"

Elmyra laughed. This boy was nothing like Aeris or Marlene, but something told the woman she wouldn't mind looking after this child either. At least this one would likely be too level-headed to run off and go one-on-one against an insane demi-god…

…Right…?

* * *

"How long has it been?"

"Three days. We haven't seen any sign of him. He was last seen with a young couple. The guy had a hat and blue hair, and the girl…looked a lot like the woman so many people reported seeing during Meteor,"

"Where are you looking now?"

"Everyone is on the lookout for him and the couple. We've got agents in every major city. Someone's gotta find them eventually,"


End file.
